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All the clashes over gas and nuclear power for the EU taxonomy

2 years ago babelfish

All the clashes over gas and nuclear power for the EU taxonomy

The proposed taxonomy for sustainable energies has not only created divisions between the Member States of the European Union, but also between the Commission itself. All the details

Yesterday the European Commission presented its definitive proposal for a “taxonomy”, the list of rules that will serve to direct the flows of financial investments towards destinations with a positive environmental impact. Among the energy sources classified as "sustainable" – that is, consistent with the ecological transition path, and therefore deserving of receiving "green" investments – natural gas and nuclear power are confirmed, but under certain conditions .

DIVISIONS BETWEEN MEMBER STATES

Since its first draft, on 31 December last, the taxonomy has created divisions and clashes between the member states of the Union, which do not think alike about the role of gas and nuclear in the electricity mix of the near future. A mix that will be less and less dependent on fossil fuels and increasingly linked to wind and solar power (which, given their intermittence, however, may not guarantee the stability of the system by themselves).

Put simply, there are two opposing blocs in Europe. One – made up of Germany, Austria, Spain and Luxembourg, among others – is against nuclear energy. The other – within it there are France, Finland and the Czech Republic – is favorable.

IT'S ITALY?

Like Germany, Italy is particularly interested in including gas as a "sustainable" source, although it has contested the Commission's requirements on plant emission levels.

In Il Sole 24 Ore Jacopo Giliberto explains that the possibility – foreseen by the taxonomy – of considering "green" also the gas plants that emit "on average 500 grams per year of CO2 for each megawatt of installed power" guarantees a future for power plants. lower efficiency, provided however that “no more than 1,000-1,200 of the 8,760 hours that make up the year remain on”.

"The only power plants with these characteristics are the generators of the capacity market that are used to cover the gaps in electricity production" when wind and solar farms do not produce energy due to a lack of wind and sun.

LEGAL ACTION

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer commented on the taxonomy proposal saying that "nuclear energy is neither green nor sustainable" (it is zero emissions but produces radioactive waste) and that it fails "to understand the decision of the European Union". He also added that he will support the proposal of his environment minister, Leonore Gewessler, in bringing a lawsuit in Brussels before the European Court of Justice. Luxembourg has made it known that it will join; Germany could.

THE TOTAL NO OF LUXEMBOURG

Claude Turmes, Minister of Energy of Luxembourg, declared that his country "strongly reiterates its opposition to the inclusion of nuclear and fossil gas in the decision of the European Commission on the taxonomy for sustainable finance".

THE POSITION OF GERMANY

Germany is moving to completely renounce nuclear power: the Minister of the Environment – Steffi Lemke, of the Greens – has defined the taxonomy as "wrong" because she considers atomic energy dangerous. In the Commission's proposal, however, only those nuclear power plants with plans and funding for waste management are considered "sustainable".

THE CLASH IN THE COMMISSION

European Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness acknowledged that the taxonomy “may be imperfect, but it is a real solution. It brings us closer to our ultimate goal of carbon neutrality "by 2050. In the shortest term, by 2030, the European Union will have to have reduced its overall emissions by 55% compared to 1990 values. The same consultants of the Commission, however, they warned that the inclusion of gas among sustainable sources could cause an increase in emissions because it will incentivize the construction of new power plants fueled with this fuel.

Taxonomy is not just pitting EU member states against each other. But it is also creating divisions within the Commission. According to sources reported by POLITICO , Commissioners Johannes Han (Budget), Elisa Ferreira (Cohesion and Reforms) and Josep Borrell (Foreign Affairs) voted against the proposal.

THE FATE OF TAXONOMY

Despite the many criticisms, the taxonomy elaborated by the Commission is unlikely to be rejected: the opposite opinion of twenty of the twenty-seven member states, or an absolute majority (353 votes) of MEPs, would be needed.

To oppose the taxonomy, writes Repubblica , are the Democratic Party and the 5 Star Movement in Italy and "substantially the whole socialist and green bloc" in the European Parliament.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/tassonomia-sostenibile-commissione-europea-scontri-interni/ on Thu, 03 Feb 2022 09:27:13 +0000.